Return: Dark Matter
by swrWriter
Summary: (Set after ME3 and Alan Wake) After a string of unnatural events and the appearance of active Reaper technology, Commander Shepard is sent to investigate Bright Falls, Washington. A supposedly simple mission is never so simple... What she finds there may be a threat far greater than the Reapers. Luckily, someone familiar with this ancient, supernatural enemy has RETURNed to help.
1. Chapter 1: A Shepard's Dream

**Return**

**-by: Alan Wake  
**

* * *

**Forward:**

Stephen King once wrote that "Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there's little fun to be had in explanations; they're antithetical to the poetry of fear." In a horror story, the victim keeps asking "why?" But there can be no explanation, and there shouldn't be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest, and it's what we'll remember in the end.

Or, at least, that's what I once thought, before my very life became a nightmare.

My name is Alan Wake. I was a writer.

I've always had a vivid imagination, dreaming up my writings and manuscripts, before putting them down on paper to sell to my adoring, die-hard fans across the world. That is, until the infamous "Writer's Block" hit. It hit one day before I could even begin writing the next series following my Best-Selling Series featuring "Alex Casey".

My loving, perfect wife… Alice, she got me to agree to vacation in Bright Falls, Washington to get my mind off of my current situation with Writer's Block. She'd rented a cabin by the lake, little did I know that the main purpose of the vacation was to get me through my writer's block via therapy. When I discovered this on the first night… we had an argument. In my anger, I ran out of the cabin, leaving Alice alone in that accursed cabin. It'd only been minutes since I'd walked out, before she screamed.

I ran back as fast as I could, and only just got inside as I saw some unseen force drag Alice through a railing and deep into Cauldron Lake, the one in which our cabin was located in the middle of. My mind in a frenzy, I jumped in after her.

I could go through the entire story of my experiences in Bright Falls in the early twenty-first century, but I'd recommend reading through my previous writing: "Departure."

Regardless, long-story-short, I discovered Cauldron Lake contained a supernatural entity known only as the Dark Presence. It had the ability to turn fiction into reality… to a certain extent. You see, the fiction must remain true to itself, or the fiction will fail and not transform properly. In the end, as the Darkness was awakening and preparing to consume everything, I sealed it back beneath the lake while simultaneously freeing Alice… all at the cost of my own life. I was trapped beneath the lake with the Dark Presence with no hope to escape… knowing one day, that someone else may fall under its spell and free it.

I'd been trapped beneath the lake for untold amounts of time. The rules of reality bend and break on a whim down there. After nearly losing my mind once or twice, I began to write a sequel to "Departure". The purpose of this story would be to free myself from the Dark Presence, while also keeping it trapped forever.

In order to do this, I began to go back into the weird trance-like state I was in when I wrote Departure, and called it "Return."

I only forgot one thing… This wasn't a lake…

It's an ocean…

And just like my first story, it all began with a dream.

* * *

** Arc 1: The Return **

**Chapter 1: A Shepard's Dream**

The air was filled with smog and mist, increasing the difficulty of breathing and obscuring the night sky from view. Not that you'd want to see the night sky anyway; filled with the burning remains of a defeated fleet and enemy vessels engaging the final push of the war.

Luckily for Commander Shepard, she wore a helmet with a state-of-the-art filtration system and hud interface, allowing the woman to breathe and see easily in the semi-natural fog around her. To both sides, the forest spread out infinitely, hiding the Reaper horrors that likely lurked within from view. Behind her laid the burning remains of an Alliance shuttle, filled only with flames, smoke, and those she was unable to save.

Gripping her empty M-6 Carnifex tightly in her right hand, she raised her left to her head and she connected to her comm system, all while staring at the particular object in the distance: A functioning lighthouse.

"Shepard to Ground Team, negative on the shuttle. They were beyond saving." She announced with a heavy heart. She was sick and tired of losing everyone she tried to save. Her friends. Her family. Her men. Her crew…

Responding back over the radio, she heard the rough yet comforting voice of her best friend, Garrus Vakarian.

_"Copy that, Shepard. We found a few survivors in the lighthouse, but they're in bad shape."_

Shepard nodded despite the gesture remaining unseen, "Where's Liara?" She asked, "Is she still with you?"

_"Yeah, she's attending to the survivors…" _His voice paused for a moment, before continuing, _"Shepard, you might want to get your ass over here. I'm getting reports from our Turian scouts that there's a large group of Reaper forces approaching your position. You need to- ttsshhszzzhzhhshhhhzzzhrrrhshsshhhhhhzzzzzhhsr…" _The audio suddenly gave out, just a deafening Reaper Siren erupted from far behind Shepard in the distance.

Garrus was right, she needed to get moving. Her best bet would be the lighthouse. It's position and the fact that there were others there meant that it would be the best spot for a pick-up. Unfortunately, her heavy pistol was empty, and the shattered, broken remains of her other weapons laid behind her in the wreck of the shuttle.

She sighed. She'd faced worse odds before. Akuze, Mindoir, Virmire, the Collector Base. Each time she should have died with those odds, but she didn't… while others did. Regardless of her feelings, she inhaled deeply, before starting on her path towards the lighthouse.

Commander Shepard continued moving forward as quickly as she could without making excessive noises, watching her surroundings carefully as she continued down along the old, seemingly unused asphalt road. That's when she made a peculiar discovery. A streetlamp. It may not normally be out of the ordinary, but in this case, it was lit, shedding light in a circle beneath it, despite the power systems being down worldwide aside from private, personal generators. However, here it was, shining brightly among the accursed darkness of the Earth.

Stepping into it carefully, expecting a trap, she felt suddenly at ease, as if most of her worries were burned away, just as the darkness pooling at the edges of the light seemed burned away under the streetlamp. Feeling slightly rejuvenated, she continued forward, returning to the darkness beyond the light. Following the path further, she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched from behind.

Turning around quickly to observe the threat, she quickly opened her eyes wider in alarm.

Standing far behind her, just in front of the wreck of the now-dark shuttle, stood a humanoid being silhouetted in the darkness. She at first thought it was a husk, but quickly dismissed it due to its stature and lack of excessive undead moaning. She wanted to shout-out to the possible survivor, but something within the Commander warned her against doing so, instead urging her to run.

Staring at the possible illusion for a moment longer, she watched as its form seemed to flicker and vibrate in the distance. Her unease grew as she noticed the image holding a scrap piece of the shuttle, which appeared sharp and deadly. Whoever or whatever it was, it probably wasn't friendly.

Despite her skills in hand-to-hand as an N7, she decided conflict wouldn't be best in this situation, so she decided to continue on her way. That's when the light behind her shut off, bathing the whole world in darkness once again.

Right as she was about to turn away, she turned back in horror as the 'thing' suddenly appeared a mere ten feet away from her. Now, much closer than before, the 'thing' in question appeared to be an Alliance soldier. Or, at least, what's left of one, but made only of physical darkness.

This abomination might have made another individual run away in fright, but not Shepard. She holstered her empty pistol and prepared for CQC if need be. Suddenly as the being before her began to approach her slowly and menacingly, it spoke in a broken, distorted tone.

**"You don't even recognize me, do you, Commander?" **The male-like voice asked, **"You think you're some big-shot? Our savior? That you can do what you want and feel is right?" **It asked her as it began swinging the twisted metal in its arms toward her, **"All you do is bring death to those around you. Well now, death is coming for you, Jennifer…"**

Wisely, as this was happening, Shepard began to retreat backward, away from the mad man and towards the lighthouse. She felt the material beneath her boots change from asphalt to wood as she stepped upon an old, antique bridge.

Racing across it in an attempt to get to the lighthouse and away from the man's words, she stumbled across the bridge and into a small clearing, where the madman now stood. The thing raised its weapon at her menacingly as she returned to a combative position.

**"Your end is near!" **It shouted in rage. It rushed at her as she timed her duck perfectly, rolling under the swing of the metal and returning to her feet and kicking at full cybernetically-enhanced strength towards the man's back sending him stumbling as he miraculously remained on his feet.

He shouted once more, **"You can't stop me!" **Once more, he swung at her, which was a fatal mistake on his part. Dashing slightly to the side, she punched the man in the head quickly, before following up with another enhanced strike in the form of an uppercut.

What should have knocked the man unconscious, or at least send him to the ground, did little more than send him stumbling a few feet back. Shepard stared at this monstrosity with a mixture of bewilderment and slight fear. "What the hell are you?"

The being simply laughed as it melted back into the surrounding shadows, further cementing the idea that both this thing was an unnatural abomination and that she should probably get to the lighthouse as soon as possible.

Spotting another lit streetlight in the distance, she raced forward once more, before she heard the voice of the monster behind her once again.

**"How does it feel to die by the hands of those you were supposed to save?" **He asked once more in that distorted voice of his, before a tornado appeared out of thin air behind him, racing towards the Commander. Her eyes widened once more as she took off in a full sprint despite the heavy armor she was wearing.

Racing forward through the wooded, now dirt-laid path before her, she refused to look behind her at the pursuing production of nature as she tried to get as far away as possible. Further, into the forest, she spotted another man. Before she could begin to panic, she noticed he was wearing an Alliance uniform and, most importantly, wasn't made of darkness. Armed with an Avengers rifle, he waved over towards her.

"Commander, this way! Hurry!" Shepard raced forward, quickly reaching the man, "Commander, we need to get out of here!" The soldier shouted to her above the powerful winds from the tornado, just as his weapon was taken from his hands by the swirling vortex rapidly approaching, "We need to get inside, hurry!" he said, motioning to a log cabin nearby.

Nodding, Shepard continued inside the cabin for temporary shelter, followed closely by the unnamed soldier. However, be it luck or the unnatural wind, the door slammed shut behind Shepard, locking her inside and worse yet, the soldier outside. She could hear the soldier banging on the door from outside as the winds died down slightly. Through the small window within the door, she watched as the man made of shadows reappeared.

"No, no, no!" The soldier yelled as the being walked toward him menacingly, all while Shepard did her best to break the door down and save the man outside from certain death. If she, a trained N7 couldn't take him down, what chance did an average soldier have against that thing?!

"Stop!" The soldier yelled turning around to face the enemy as he pulled out a loaded M-6 of his own from his holster on his hip. Shepard had felt a small sliver of relief. Maybe now that thing would be gone.

With the gun out, the soldier aimed it upon the approaching man. Firing at will, he unloaded his thermal clip into the man's torso and head, each bullet simply slowing the man's approach, quickly dashing all of Shepard's fears as she continued to try to break down the door. This monster was bulletproof.

"No, no! Dammit, die!" He quickly ran out of ammo in his gun, which he realized just as the man raised the metal weapon above his head, "NO! NO! NAaah!" He screamed as his pleas were ignored and cut off by a metal fragment entering his head, silencing the soldier forever. Rather than stop there, however, the monster continued to swing at the dead body, leaving no chance of revival. Shepard watched in horror as she stopped trying to open the door, knowing it'd be coming for her next.

Just as she realized this, the monster stopped what it was doing, raising its head towards Shepard as it seemed to remember that she was there, too. Panicking a bit more than she might have liked, she backed away from the door quickly as the tornado seemed to rematerialize outside.

The tornado, now much closer than before began to rock and shake the cabin, preparing to break down the walls and doom Shepard to a death within the cabin, regardless of the shadowy monster's location. Looking for a way out, the cabin shook again. The walls creaked and groaned from the strain of the winds. Only a second later, the whole foundation shook, knocking Shepard to the ground as death approached. Her body was groaning in protest as her vision threatened to turn red from her thrashing about, when it suddenly ended.

Still in pain, the wind suddenly died instead, as a second exit door opened within the cabin. Holding her injured arm, Shepard began to stare at the open door with an unnatural amount of light pouring out of it, as if beckoning her towards it. That's when she heard another voice.

"Follow the light."

Despite everything, she did as she was told. 'Damn, guess there really is a first time for everything.' She thought to herself. Lightly limping towards the alit doorway, she walked through it, tripping as she few a few feet down to the ground. Luckily for her, she landed on her feet with very little additional pain.

She continued forward down a ruined path through the woods now that she was out of the cabin, attempting to get to the bright light despite knowing it would be an easy target for Reapers and their forces. Finally, she found a ball of hovering light.

The floating ball of light before her spoke once more as a beam of said light pointed to a nearby light pole, turning it on, "You shouldn't be here, but you are. You must go into the light. You are only safe there."

She nodded, she spoke as she did as he asked, "Who are you?", she asked, limping towards the pole before entering the warm light. It bathed over her, calming her nerves and heart rate. Her injuries seemed to be inconsequential. It was relaxing, like enjoying a dip in a hot spring after a long day at the office. However, the voice soon interrupted her momentary bliss.

"You should be healing… Here, take this. This may work instead." She turned towards the voice to find a vial of Medi-Gel descending from the glowing orb of light. Snatching it out of the air without a worry, Shepard searched over the vial to make sure it was still sealed and legitimate, before popping it into her suit of armor, where it distributed the life-saving gel throughout her body.

Now her wounds truly were inconsequential.

The light went out as she remembered the words of the orb, before it suddenly approached her towards the end of the trail, where a drop off existed and a wooden staircase once did as well, "I apologize, it has been some time since I've seen the outside world." The orb informed her, "I have something important to tell you. It goes like this." The voice paused a moment, before reciting some kind of poetry.

"For he did not know, that beyond the lake he called home, lies a deep, darker ocean green, where waves are both wilder and more serene. To its ports I've been. To its ports I've been."

"Wh-what?" Shepard asked in a slight daze, the Medi-Gel still kicking in fully, "I… I don't understand."

"You will…" The voice responded vaguely, "Follow my light."

She was about to make a witty remark about how she was unable to do so thanks to the drop-off before her, when suddenly, light rained from the orb, somehow causing the rotten wood chunks thirty feet below her to reassemble into their original form.

No longer questioning things, she proceeded forward towards the light, taking her time on the newly made set of stairs as the voice spoke again, "I entered your dream to teach you, and to warn you." He said, "The darkness is dangerous. It's sleeping now, but not for much longer. It is waking up. There's no time, I can only show you the most important thing." He said, further confusing Shepard. Darkness? Waking up? Sleeping? She didn't understand… and did the voice say this was a dream?

She continued further, quickening her pace towards the orb as it continued, "Your soldier has been taken over by the Dark Presence." He informed her. Is that what that man was? A real Alliance soldier being possessed by something called the Dark Presence? "You can't hurt him now. The darkness protects him from all harm." He informed her.

"What do I do then?" She finally asked.

"Only light can drive the darkness away and make him venerable again." The voice said, before suddenly, a beam of light hit Shepard's arm, "Such odd technology…" The voice remarked, "Here, use the light on your arm." He said as the shadow-like man rematerialized from the surrounding woods.

Shepard nodded, turning on the flashlight option within her Omni-Tool. Whatever that voice-orb-thing did, it seemed more powerful than before, and there was some sort of option to narrow the beam.

"Now, turn the light towards him and burn the darkness away." It commanded the Commander.

Shepard did as she was told once again, aiming the light at the creature of darkness. In retaliation, it raised its arm defensively in an attempt to block out the light as a steam-like fog seemed to roll off of it. Trying out the option of narrowing the beam, she noticed a number of things. Primarily, the fog seemed to roll off of the man fasters as the light shined brighter. Unfortunately, it also seemed to be killing the rechargeable battery of her Omni-Tool even faster…

Wait a moment, it was killing the Omni-Tool's battery… but how? She turned off the light and noticed the battery was coming back. She guessed that the improved flashlight with the ability to harm this creature came at such a cost. Turning on the light once more, she continued burning away the darkness, until something peculiar happened.

A small burst of sparks erupted from the creature as he was pushed a few feet back. The radiating dark aura around him vanished, and his features were more readily visible. However, she could still easily tell that this wasn't a normal soldier. It was still a monster.

"You did it." The voice congratulated her, "Now the darkness no longer protects him. But it's still inside, controlling him." Shepard was about to protest, when the voice seemed to almost read her thoughts, "He can't be saved. He is still a threat. He is still your enemy. Just like the Indoctrinated, they cannot be saved." The voice paused and seemed to examine Shepard, "You have a gun. Here, one of your… thermal clips." The voice paused for a moment, as if unfamiliar with such a term.

Just as he said it, the light beam from earlier descended from the sky with a thermal clip held within it. Reaching out, Shepard easily grabbed it and slammed it into her Carnifex, pulling back the slide and fully reloading it.

**"Now you will die!"** The monster soldier from before cried out finally, ready to kill Shepard.

Unfortunately for him, Shepard now had the means to make him vulnerable… and you don't become an N7 for nothing. Now weakened, Shepard shined her light quickly into the creature's face, blinding it temporarily and causing it to stumble and stop advancing. With the thing distracted, she placed two well-aimed shots into the creature's head.

The final blow sent the former human into the air for a split second, before the body exploded into sparks and disintegrated. No body. No monster.

"Good. You've done well. Remember what I've taught you." The voice paused for a moment, "That is all, I will give you back your dream now." And with that, before Shepard could even try to make it stop and ask her questions, the odd light-thing vanished, leaving her alone in a dark, smog-filled forest on the way to a lighthouse.

She still, somewhere in the back of her head, knew this was still a dream, yet her goal remained unchanged. She needed to get to the lighthouse. Continuing forward, she encountered another one of the fallen soldiers.

**"You made me this way, Commander! This is your fault!"** It cried out.

However, Shepard was used to these kinds of verbal abuse from the media, and simply flashed the fallen soldier with her Omni-Tool, blinding it for a few seconds as she burned the darkness away. Aiming once more, two well-aimed shots ended the monster's short, meaningless life.

Continuing forward as the winds picked up, Shepard found a pair of fallen, shadow-filled soldiers.

**"This is your end, Shepard!"** One of them shouted as they rushed forward more makeshift weapons.

Playing smart once more, Shepard quickly flashed both of the creatures with her narrow beam of light, blinding them for a moment as she focused on baddy number one. Just as she finished burning the darkness away, she saw the second creature swing at her with some sort of sickle. Ducking underneath it, Shepard felt a tingling sensation from within, and launched a warp at the first creature, blowing it to pieces as it disintegrated.

"Huh. Guess biotics work pretty well, too." She said to herself as she threw a warp at the final remaining enemy. However, this one merely shrugged off the blow of biotic energy and continued advancing. "Or maybe the darkness still needs to be burned away…" She observed. She aimed her flashlight at the remaining enemy, burning the rest of the darkness away before using a biotic throw to send it off a nearby cliff.

Proceeding, Shepard continued down the path to find another streetlamp alit, with some sort of emergency supply box attached to it. She opened it to find a few more thermal clips, a new vial of Medi-Gel, and some sort of old-fashioned flare gun. Loading herself up with the provided supplies, the Commander continued on her journey to the Lighthouse.

Along the path, with the flare gun still in hand, a large group of seven of those dark creatures exited the shadows. One shouted at her. **"You're dead! Just like us!"**

Using her wits and what she knew about this particular flare gun model, she decided to test her luck and see how this would work out. Surely, a flare gun would be a formidable weapon against the darkness.

Pulling the trigger, she watched as a small red projectile sailed through the air, hitting dead center of the group of shadowy men. Once it hit the ground, it exploded in a spectacular flash of red light, vaporizing all seven of the creatures instantly, before leaving a small red burning flare on the ground, continuing to produce light.

Shepard couldn't help but smile at her handy work, "Mama like… if only a solution to the Reapers was this simple…"

She continued running down the path now, before she returned to the paved road, which led directly to the lighthouse. However, another one of those soldiers stood in the opposite direction, shouting at her in anger, **"I can keep this up forever, Commander. Can you?!"** Suddenly, the shadow-filled tornado reappeared in the soldier's place.

Seeing as the lighthouse wasn't too far away now, she took off in a full sprint towards the lighthouse, running as fast as she could away from certain doom.

She ran and ran, dodging rocks and tree limbs being tossed at her from behind, somehow, by the tornado.

Before long, with the force of nature right behind her, she reached the lighthouse. Opening and closing the door behind her, Shepard smiled as the light from within bathed over her. The beam of light from the lighthouse now landed on the closing-in tornado, burning it away and leaving the building safe. Letting out a sigh of relief, Shepard couldn't help but laugh.

She survived. She survived… whatever the hell all of that was!

"Liara! Garrus!" She cried out, "Where are you?"

Suddenly, the lights went out, flooding the once-safe building with darkness. If that wasn't bad enough, the light that once filled the building was soon replaced with the sounds of her friends' dying screams.

In a panic, Shepard cried out repeatedly for her friends and tried to locate the origin of the screams, but was unable to do so. That was when something struck her from behind, piercing her back as she felt indescribable pain sear across her body. She, too, screamed out within the lighthouse.

Suddenly, everything went black, and all sensation vanished. Only a single sentence was heard in her ears before everything ended.

**"She's here."**

* * *

_"Commander."_

She ignored it.

_"Commander Shepard, wake up."_

Commander Jane Shepard jumped up suddenly in her bed, sweating profusely as she took deep, shuddering breaths in an attempt to calm her heart rate.

_"Commander Shepard, are you alright?" _The female voice called out over the speakers in her Captain's Cabin. Shepard took another deep breath before responding.

"I'm fine, Traynor. Just a nightmare, is all." She responded to her friend. Was it really though, she wondered silently, the dream still fully remembered.

Deciding not to push her superior, Samantha Traynor continued, _"Anyway, we've just been cleared by docking officials in Seattle, and you're clear to leave whenever you wish. Lieutenant Cortez is ready to take you to Bright Falls at your convenience, Commander."_

"Thank you, Traynor."

_"No problem, Shepard. Logging out." _And with that, the room was plunged into silence. Using her omni-tool, Shepard turned on all the lights within her room, now feeling slightly uneasy within the usually comfortable darkness of her room. She frowned as she realized how silly that was. Being afraid of the dark? She hadn't been that bad since her Mindoir days.

Sighing, knowing she had to get up for her mission, Shepard unwillingly left her comfortable bed and stood up. Fully turning on her Omni-Tool, she decided to open up the mission summary from the Council. The reason she was back on Earth right now.

_Commander Jennifer Shepard,_

_As of a few days ago, a seemingly active Reaper artifact was dug up on Earth despite the complete destruction of all Reaper and AI technology that occurred nearly three years ago. Against all odds, it was discovered in the United North American States in Bright Falls, Washington, and consisted of four active Husks and a functioning Dragon's Tooth. This is alarming on many levels, and suggests there may be far more than just that lying around the area. Your mission is to investigate the town and attempt to locate the artifact. In all likelihood, indoctrination may be affecting some citizens there. The Alliance Military has currently blocked all non-essential space-travel between the west coast and the rest of the Galaxy, and martial law is ready to be put into effect within the entire county containing Bright Falls if need be._

_With the Military busy trying to maintain order and the illusion of control and lack of issues, you must accomplish your goal in as little time as possible. As an additional note, the town is notorious for supernatural myths and beliefs, so take much of your information with a grain of salt._

_Good Luck, Commander._

_-The Galactic Council_

Yeah, just another day at the office.

* * *

** Author's Note:**

_This is kinda like a bit of an apology for being away for a while, and to those of you following The Pinnacle of Evolution, do not fear, I'm working on the next chapter as you read this._

So, this was an idea that had suddenly popped into my mind a while back that I slowly but surely managed to write out the first chapter for, as a little demo. If you think this story idea is interesting, please let me know.

This may or may not become a full story. If it does, it will be a while, but I think it's a cool and unique idea. For a bit of context, here's some additional information:

_Commander: Jennifer Shepard_

**_(Default female appearance) [Colonist Background; Sole Survivor] {Paragon}_**

_Most Important Choices Made:_

_Recruited Liara first._

_Saved Rachni Queen._

_Saved entire colony on Feros. (Not Fai Den)_

_Left Kaiden on Virmire to Guard Bomb._

_Romanced: Kaiden Alenko._

_Saved Galactic Council._

_Convinced Saren to kill himself._

_Chose Anderson as Councilor._

_Stopped the Asteroid toward Terra Nova._

_Recruited all Crew Members. (Including DLC)_

_Full Squad Loyalty._

_No ME2 Romance._

_Finished Suicide Mission with 0 deaths._

_Destroyed Collector Base._

_Completed all ME2 DLC stories. (LotSB, Arrival, Overlord.)_

_Recruited Javik. _

_Cured Genofage. (Mordin Dies)_

_Saved Rachni Queen 2nd Time. (Grunt lives.)_

_Convinced Ashley to turn on Udina. Recruited Ashley. (Ashley lives. Thane dies.)_

_Achieved Peace between Geth and Quarians. (Tali lives. Legion Dies.)_

_Completed all ME3 DLC stories. (Leviathan, Omega, Citadel.)_

_Maximum Galactic Readiness._

_No ME3 Romance._

_Ashley and Liara charged beam with Shepard. (Both live.)_

_Convinced TIM to kill himself._

_Activated Crucible. Chose **DESTROY**._

_Shepard lived. (Geth and EDI died.)_

_Shepard maintains Spectre Status after war._

_Shepard is assigned mission in 2189 to Bright Falls._

_N7 James Vega and Spectre Ashley Williams join her as squad mates._

Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think! And thanks again!


	2. Chapter 2: A Bright Day

**Arc 1: The Return**

**Chapter 2: A Bright Day**

* * *

Commander Jennifer Shepard shifted slightly, adjusting her posture in her full suit of N7 armor as the Shuttle lightly rocked from the turbulence outside. Her mind, however, was elsewhere, focused solely on the peculiar dream she'd only awoken from mere hours ago.

Unlike most dreams, she remembered the entirety of it, even this far after awakening. In fact, there was only one other set of dreams she could remember with absolute clarity… and she'd rather not dwell on those memories. After all, the Reapers were dead, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about. Yet… something felt off about that dream. It felt so real… and what was with that odd, light-made presence in her dream filled with darkness?

Her internal musing was cut off by a nudge to her shoulder.

Looking to her right, her eyes met one of her oldest friend's. Ashely Williams, in a full set of blue, alliance-issue Spectre-grade armor, frowned lightly at her, her eyes showing only concern, "You alright, Commander?"

Shepard let out a sigh, shaking her head and thoughts away, "I'm fine, Williams."

Ashley let out a quick scoff. "C'mon, Shepard, you're going to have to do better than that to lie to me."

Shepard chuckled at her friend's concern. Despite everything she'd been through with Ashley, even with their ups and downs, she could still count on her to worry, even when it's not necessary. Perhaps she saw her as a sister. After all, she had plenty of others to worry about growing up.

"It's nothing, Ash. Just thinking about my nightmare." She mumbled the last part.

However, Ashley still heard her, raising an eyebrow, "A nightmare, huh? Wanna talk about it?"

To that, the Commander shook her head, "No thanks, but I appreciate the offer."

"Alright. Well, if you ever change your mind…"

"I know where to find you. Hell, I almost never see you within ten meters of James."

Ashley's face reddened as her eyes narrowed dangerously. Before she could respond, laughter could be heard from the cockpit, before a large man in dark blue armor with a single stripe down one arm emerged, "Did somebody call my name? Lola?"

"Yeah, I was just telling your girlfriend how lucky she is to have a big, strong man like you."

Ashley's blush only deepened as James began to laugh, "Is that right, Ceniza?" He finally asked Ashley, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows. In response, she smacked his chestplate, shaking her head.

"Ass."

"Ahh, but I'm your ass, Ceniza."

"Get a room you two." Shepard said with a light chuckle, shaking her head at the couple. Only a moment later, someone else called back from the cockpit.

"We'll be landing in Bright Falls in five, Commander."

"Thanks Cortez!" She yelled back, slowly sinking back into her thoughts about her dream. Perhaps it meant nothing… then again, she WAS Commander Shepard. Nothing was ever just 'nothing' when it came to her.

* * *

The shuttle's thrusters slowly died down as solid ground met the craft. Only a moment passed before the door slid open, allowing Shepard to step out and into the sunlight. She wasn't sure why, but the warm light absorbing into her skin allowed her a sense of calm, making her subconsciously take a deep breath and close her eyes for just a moment.

It felt good. The light.

Opening her eyes after partaking in that short bout of relaxation, her eyes darted around, quickly examining her surrounds.

It was a quiet, small town; Bright Falls. The kind you'd see in vids and colonial advertisements. Except there wasn't a prefab in sight, each building a unique, antique structure built of brick and mortar. Some buildings, obviously newer, were built of more metal than the others, yet it managed to still fit the theme of a rural, homely town. Several skycars were parked on the ancient streets from days of old, only being currently maintained for the occasional antique car, foot travel, or biking.

Shepard felt a few flashes of her own colonial days on Mindoir, but quickly shook the thoughts from her head. The memories no longer bothered her, but there was little reason to torture herself by reliving those events in her mind. She was a far different Jennifer Shepard than she'd been back then, in her teenage years.

Turning to the other side of the old, paved road, Shepard settled her gaze on an old-fashioned diner, complete with the stereotypical exterior design only seen in antique vids and neon signs to complete the aesthetic. The sign read: "_Bright's Diner"_, but above it rested the words _"Oh Deer Diner"._

'Oh Deer Diner, huh?' Shepard internally mused, chuckling to herself. A simple play on words, and if her memory served her correctly, she recalled that the town had some sort of important deer festival every year. Luckily for Shepard, this was the meeting place with her Alliance contact.

Turning her head to look over her shoulder, she saw both of her squadmates looking around the town with amazement in their eyes. Seems like they, too, were not very familiar with small antique towns like this, especially on Earth.

"Close your mouth, Williams. Who knows where it's been?" Shepard called back to Ashley, causing her cheeks to flood red with a blush, her eyes narrowing dangerously toward the Commander. James, catching what Shepard had just said, laughed aloud in amusement; both at what she said and how Ashley was behaving.

Before the second Spectre could reply to the verbal jab, Shepard waved over her shoulder and began crossing the street toward the diner, knowing that Steve would stick with the shuttle until further orders.

Crossing quickly, the squad of three quickly entered the diner.

The air was filled with the smell of fresh pancakes and greasy bacon, making Shepard's mouth water at the delectable aromas. She didn't need to see James or Ash to know they felt the exact same. After all, being stuck on a Military vessel with military-grade food together for so long, such fresh food smelled heavenly.

"Welcome to the Oh Deer Diner!" A young woman called out to the three of them. Shepard's gaze quickly fell upon the woman, making eye contact with the young woman's deep brown eyes.

The woman behind the counter wore a red uniform, stereotypical of these types of establishments, wearing a warm smile along with her clothes. She had brown hair reaching to the middle of her neck. Her hair was so evenly cut like that, if she looked down far enough, her hair would cover her eyes. Weaved into her hair, though, was worn-down red ribbon, matching the uniform. Smooth, tan skin was shown wherever the semi-conservative outfit wasn't covering, revealing a rather medium build with some muscles underneath. The woman worked out, but certainly wasn't military, which could also be inferred from her posture. Around her neck laid what appeared to be a custom-made necklace, shaped into the form of a heart. Shepard's eyes quickly darted slightly down, focusing on the young lady's nametag.

Charlotte.

The entire observation only took a moment, thanks to her training in scanning any situation at a moment's notice. That's when Charlotte began to speak.

"May I help you three today?" She asked, tilting her head to the right slightly.

Shepard nodded, "We're looking for Jordan Burke. He's supposed to be meeting with us."

"Oh! Mr. Burke?" She asked, perking up a bit, "He's over there…" She pointed to her right. "In the booth, enjoying one of our famous Oh Deer Special Breakfasts. Would you like me to ring up anything for you three?"

Shepard could practically feel the stares and begging looks in her partners' eyes behind her, boring into her head. Unfortunately, they had business to attend to… but maybe later they could…

She ended up shaking her head, "Sorry, we have some business to get done, first. Perhaps later."

Charlotte nodded in understanding, "Hey, I get it. No need to worry, I'll still be here…" She paused for a moment as the waitress' eyes scanned Shepard's face. "Hey, I think I've…" Her eyes suddenly lit up, "Oh. My. God. You're THE Commander Shepard, aren't you?!" She said suddenly and excitedly.

Ashley laughed, "Look Shepard, you've got a fan. Could this be Conrad's wife?"

Shepard didn't even want to discuss Conrad and his delusions, nor go down the rabbit hole that was Conrad's lack of a wife despite his prior claims in Ashley's presence. Electing to ignore her squad mate, Shepard smiling and nodded.

"Yes, but could you keep it down. I'm trying to maintain a low presence."

"O-of course. You can count on me, Commander. It's just… I'm a huge fan of yours!" Charlotte told her, "Y-you see, I was here on Earth during the Reaper occupation." She informed her, "I was actually hiding out in this diner when one of those Banshee managed to catch me… But then, before it could hurt me, a red wave of energy washed over the town, vaporizing that asari abomination." She explained, "That was you… You saved the entire galaxy, but you saved my life, too! I owe you my life…"

Shepard smiled at the young woman. The poor lady had to survive on Earth during the entire occupation? Even in a remote location like this town, the Reapers were relentless and merciless to any and all sentients they encountered.

"Well, I'm glad that you're ok, Charlotte." The woman very slightly flinched at the name, as if finding it to be distasteful in another's mouth. Perhaps she wished to change her name, or preferred to be called by another name? Shepard only barely caught it, before it vanished.

"Thank you, Commander. Please, let me know if there's anything I can do for you while you're here in Bright Falls." Charlotte told her, before she began to ramble, "I mean, that is, if you plan to be here for a while. Why are you here, anyway? Wait a moment, maybe you're on vacation? Nah, but maybe you're on a mission? What's your mission? Is it about the husks?" Shepard's eyebrows shot up at her statement. "Oops. It's probably top secret. Forget I even asked. Sorry, I tend to ramble sometimes. It's just, you're THE Commander Freaking Shepard. I don't even…"

"Breathe, chicka." James cut in, resulting in Charlotte pausing mid-sentence and taking a deep breath. Her cheeks soon flooded in embarrassment.

"S-sorry…"

Shepard chuckled and shook her head, used to this sort of thing by now, "Don't worry about it. Thank you for your help. If I need anything, I'll be sure to stop by and ask."

Charlotte nodded, "Of course."

"I should go. Spectre business and all that." Shepard told the woman, who nodded.

"I guess I'll see you around. If you're still around, that is…"

* * *

Shepard stopped her steps and halted before the booth, her arms crossed as she leaned her weight onto her right leg. The Alliance Intelligence Officer she was supposed to be meeting was going all in on a plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. It only took the man a moment to look up at the group who'd stopped at his table, causing him to immediately swallow the food in his mouth and clear his thought with a sip of coffee. He wore a nice suit, instead of an officer's uniform, likely attempting to remain inconspicuous... which failed.

"C-Commander… you're early…" Agent Burke started, hoping the legendary N7 and Spectre was not upset with him.

Shepard narrowed her eyes slightly. "I'm actually right on time." She stated matter-of-factly.

The AIO chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck, "Sorry about this… I haven't eaten here in years."

"You've been here before?" Ashley asked from Shepard's side.

Nodding, he replied, "Yeah, I grew her in the UNAS. My mother brought me up here to Bright Falls on vacation every other year growing up." He told them, "The Oh Deer Diner has the best breakfast in the country, possibly even the planet or galaxy." He said, smiling at the thought of the diner's food.

"That's all well and good, Agente, but we're here on business." James cut in, just before Shepard could do the same. Minus the Spanish, that is.

"Right, sorry. Please sit down."

Ashley slid into the booth first, followed by Shepard. James, noticing the lack of room across from the agent, grabbed a stool and pulled it over to the table. Everyone sitting down now, Jordan Burke slid the food away from him toward the wall, making unobstructed table space between him and the three legends. How he managed to get the prestigious honor of briefing these guys, he had no clue… but he was grateful to whoever or whatever brought this opportunity to him.

"Alright, so let's start with what you've been told so far."

Shepard nodded, "The Council contacted me about the reemergence of Reaper technology here in Bright Falls. Four Husks and a Dragon's Tooth." She stated neutrally, "I believe I heard the Alliance is preparing for martial law if it turns out to be far worse than expected."

Jordan absorbed what she'd said, before responding, "You've been well-informed, Commander. The situation down here is complicated, to say the least." His eyes darted around the diner for a moment before resettling on Shepard, "Three days ago, Charlotte Dreamer, the waitress over there," He named, causing Shepard's and her companions' eyes to look over at the woman who'd greeted them upon entering the building. "She'd been jogging by the shore of Cauldron Lake just before dawn, when she'd reported the Husks and Dragon's Tooth."

"La Camerera found those things?" James asked, "Poor kid."

Jordan nodded, "Yes. Alliance officials landed no more than twenty minutes after the reported sighting. We found four dead husks, but a fully intact Dragon's Tooth. The four husks had signs of blunt trauma, and several stab wounds in vital weak points. After interviewing Miss Dreamer, we discovered she used a branch she found on her jog and a hand-crafted knife she owned to defend herself."

"Wait, hold up." Ashley interjected, "The kid managed to discover a group of husks, call it in, and kill all four of them with a knife?" She asked, bewildered. Shepard had to agree with her amazement. Husks were no joke, even with a rifle or hand cannon to deal with them.

Agent Burke chuckled lightly, "I know, right? We were surprised too. Anyway, she was in shock when we came upon her, because she was claiming that there were an additional six husks that had attacked her, but, quote: _After I defeated them, they vanished into the shadows._"

"Must have shook her really hard." Shepard remarked.

"Definitely. As for the Dragon's Tooth, it was obviously externally intact, so Alliance Intelligence took it into custody and had it investigated… Shepard, it was genuine. And more than that, we've confirmed it had all the necessary materials to convert a human into a husk. Internally and externally intact… that shouldn't be possible. Not after the Crucible."

"Any explanations for this?" She asked, "You must have some sort of idea about how this happened."

Jordan chuckled sadly, shaking his head. "Not really. We thought it might be because they were submerged within the lake, which saved them from the crucible, but that's unlikely. Think about it, if the lake protected them, why haven't we seen other surviving Reaper tech on other planets? And why now, after several years? After all, Earth was ground zero for the Crucible."

Shepard had to agree with the Alliance's lack of belief in the theory. If any amount of Reaper tech survived, it would have likely either emerged immediately after the Crucible fired, or waited several decades or centuries, when nobody would expect the Reapers. Something was odd here.

Obviously, Shepard had many more questions to ask, so she needed to figure out where to start.

"Tell me, if you already have this much information, why am I here?" Jennifer couldn't help but ask.

"Because you're Commander Freakin' Shepard." He answered immediately, "If this is Reaper stuff, who better than the expert, herself, to get involved." He took a deep breath, "Honestly, there are two main reasons. One, your expertise and experience with the Reapers could provide valuable insight into the situation, and help us figure it all out. Two, it will calm the masses and appease the galaxy to know that Commander Shepard is investigating this. Knowing the Reaper expert is here means we're actually taking this seriously, and there's no need to worry with you here."

Shepard felt a little flattered at that, yet also annoyed. She was more than just a Reaper expert… Though, she should have seen this coming, seeing as she had refused to retire after the war, it was inevitable that something like this would involve her.

"How many people know about this?" She asked next, "The Reaper Tech on Earth?" She decided to specify.

"The higher-ups in the Alliance know, the Council are obviously in on it, and most of the heads of the Galactic governments are aware of the situation. After all, if the Reapers are intact in any sort of fashion, this will involve everyone."

"And the public?" Ashley asked, "Seeing that there's a lack of panic, I'd imagine many don't know about this."

"And you'd be correct, Spectre Williams." He replied, making eye-contact with the woman, "All the public knows is that the Alliance is focusing rebuilding efforts on the western seaboard of the UNAS. Obviously, rumors are flying about Reapers and husks, but we've managed to minimize the damage."

"How'd you manage that?" Shepard had to ask.

At that, the agents flushed lightly in embarrassment, "W-well, we've leaked your presence on Earth. The public knows you're in the UNAS, overseeing construction and checking old Reaper sites on Earth to make sure everything is inactive."

"You've leaked that I'm here?" She asked, shocked, but not overly so.

"Unfortunately, it was necessary. Sooner or later, it was going to get out one way or another. This way, the damage can be controlled."

"What about the people here? I'd imagine that the news spread quickly around a small town like this. How is it not public knowledge yet?"

"That's the thing, Commander, the news has reached every citizen in Bright Falls. They all know, and they've been telling the Galaxy what's going on."

Shepard's eyes widened in alarm. This was not good at all. "I thought you said the damage was controlled, and most of the public didn't know about this?!" She asked, narrowing her eyes at the agent.

Jordan sighed, shaking his head, "How much do you know about Bright Falls, Commander?"

Shepard didn't see where he was going with this, but decided to humor him. "Not much. The Council mentioned the town was superstitious in their briefing. I've seen that it's a small town in the Mountains, that seems to have taken very little damage from the Reaper occupation."

"That is all true, but the superstition is much deeper than you think." He answered simply. "Lean back and relax, Commander, while I tell you the legend and history of Bright Falls and Cauldron Lake."

Shepard shook her head at the man being melodramatic, but decided to humor him, leaning back against the soft booth seat.

"Bright Falls is a small, rural town located in the mountains, built right next to Caulrdon Lake, the fourth-deepest lake in the world, formed within a volcanic caldera long ago. It goes so deep, and becomes so dark down there, that the majority of the lake bed it still unmapped to this day. This beautiful town, with its serene forests, homeliness, and calm lakefront, has become a minor tourist attraction, specifically attracting artists of all types. Musicians, artists, writers, you name it, a famous artist of that specific art has visited, been born, or died here.

"Those are the simple facts. Many artists have come here to either live or visit over the centuries. However, a large number of them have either gone missing, died, or gone insane while here, contributing to the already immense mythology and superstition around the town.

"According to the citizens of Bright Falls, there's an evil entity located in Cauldron Lake, bringing mischief and death. They say the evil within the lake calls forth and gives inspiration to artists when they come to Bright Falls, and when they produce art while here, it comes to life, but twists it to its own whims. Apparently, the legends say that the evil used to take the form of a witch, but now, and I quote, _uses the face of a well-dressed man_. Whoever encounters this witch or man will go insane, fearing the dark for the rest of their lives.

"Apparently, in the early 21st century, a famous writer came to Bright Falls on vacation with his wife. Legend says she was kidnapped by the evil within the lake, and he wrote a story to appease the evil. Upon doing so, the Well-Dressed Man took the writer's life, but set the woman free. These events, and the writer's love for his wife, caused the evil to fall asleep, bringing peace to Bright Falls. Well, for a time, that is."

"A legend from the 21st century?" Shepard asked, "That's peculiar."

He nodded in agreement, "I agree. You see, there are actually several police reports, newspaper articles, and even a book from that time period that paints an odd picture of the events. The writer wrote a final, fictional novel based on Bright Falls and the legend of the evil in the lake while he stayed here on vacation. Police reports show that his wife went missing for over a week, before the man went missing and his wife reappeared. He was never seen again."

"So, the town used those events to further their superstitions?"

Jordan nodded, "Yes. Apparently, many of the officials in Bright Falls at the time were obsessed with the mythology of the lake, and further propagated the legend. Obviously, there may be some sort of truth to the myth, as there often is with most myth, but the legend is just ridiculous." He told them. "And that's why there isn't a panic and why not many people KNOW about the husks. The townspeople believe the husks are a sign of the evil within the lake reawakening."

"So, the townspeople are crazy?" Ashley asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Not necessarily. Most of them do not believe the legends and myths. But because of the town's reputation, most people, including many people in the town, believe the whole story about the husks is another attempt at a new legend of the lake. Most just ignore the rumors and continue with their lives as if nothing has changed… and that's the way we'd like to keep it. We're just lucky that these things decided to reappear in such a location. Makes damage control that much easier."

Shepard, though definitely doubtful in the legends of the town, found them somewhat fascinating. Perhaps they would be an important insight for the investigation. After all, most myth had some truth to it, so perhaps the legends were talking about Reaper tech existing within Cauldron Lake for centuries, being the reason behind all of the legends.

Jordan continued, "Though, that's just the watered-down version of the legends. You'd need to talk to someone more familiar with them to get a better idea of what they believe."

"Like what?" Shepard asked, her curiously peaked. At the raised eyebrow on Jordan's face, she gave her reasoning in being interested.

"I see your point. Well, a couple miles from here, further up the mountain, is an old power plant-turned museum, called The Museum of Light. They'd probably have all the information you'd ever want about the legends… Though, I'd be careful over there if I were you."

"And why's that?"

"Well, the owner is a little…"

"Loco?" "Crazy?" James and Ashley added in sync, causing their smiles to grow as they made eye-contact. Shepard just elected to ignore them for the time being.

"Well… Kinda…" He said vaguely, "She's an ex-Asari Commando with an extreme case of PTSD, though she claims its more than just that. She's obsessed with the legends of Cauldron Lake, but she's not in the best shape, mentally."

Shepard nodded, filing the information away for later. "Okay, so what is our plan?"

Agent Burke nodded, "Well, it's early in the day, still, and I have several tasks to do before the end. I'm thinking meeting back here at 2200 hours? I'll have more information from the higher ups about the way to proceed from here, and we'd be able to investigate the scene without the public watching us that late into the night. As for now, that's up to you. I'm planning to finish my meal before I return to work. I need to speak with local law enforcement."

Shepard mused internally for a moment before coming to a decision, "I'll follow up on the legends at the museum. Perhaps we'll learn something there."

"Sounds like a plan, Commander. Just remember, take what you hear from these guys lightly. These myths seem to pervade all aspects of their life." Jordan said, before activating his omni-tool, "Here's my contact information, and the location of the museum. I'll contact you around sunset."

Shepard slid out of the booth after receiving the information, followed by Ashley and James, and made her way to the door. Over her shoulder, Charlotte called out.

"Have a good day, Commander."

Shepard smiled at her words and waved a farewell over her shoulder as she stepped back out into the warm, bright day. The sun was high the sky, signaling the middle of the day. Knowing it was approaching winter here, Shepard was aware of the shortening days. Followed by her squad, the senior Spectre led the way back to Cortez and the shuttle.

'Time to learn more about these 'myths'.' She mused to herself, enjoying the warmth of the sun as she walked back to the shuttle.

* * *

Codex Entry:

The Galactic Council

The Council is a multi-species conglomerate of representatives and one of the largest political powers in the entire Milky Way Galaxy. Originally founded shortly after the first contact between the Salarians and Asari, the Council eventually grew to host the Turians and, more recently, Humanity within the upper representation. The other various races within the countless clusters within the Milky Way are often involved one way or another, but usually only have representation through an Embassy, rather than any true political representative.

However, things began to change following the Reaper War.

The Galaxy was in a rough spot. Humanity's Councilor was a deceased traitor, and many ambassadors were dead or retired to help at their homeworlds. As a sign of the joint cooperation during the Reaper War, the Council offered Embassies to the remaining excluded races, and began looking into allowing the Quarians to join the Council, as their fleets were a turning point in the war. The fact that they once again controlled their homeworld was also a plus.

Currently, the Council's authority is almost as strong as it was prior to the genocide, but only within Council Space. An Asari named Aria had managed to wrestle control of another large portion of the Galaxy, with another equally large portion bordering on the brink of lawlessness. The Council, however, tries their best to maintain the illusion of control. At least, until it is no longer an illusion.

The former Council members, aside from the former Human representatives, remain unchanged, including Sparatus, Tevos, and Valern. Currently, through an emergency vote in the Alliance, a woman by the name of Christine Angela represents Humanity on the Council. Often referred to as the single best possible choice for the position, she has done much work in stabilizing the Galaxy following the war.

* * *

**A/N:**

It's been a while. I'm going to be honest for a moment:

I've been having problems recently. My drive to write has been taking some hits with my college classes recently, so I haven't had much time to write. I have, however, been slowly writing since my last update for my stories, but it has been slow. Now, all of that, compounded with the fact that my computer died and lost all my progress on The Pinnacle of Evolution, my drive has been at an all-time low. I want to keep writing, though, and do not want to abandon it. That being said, I have a new computer now and am working on the next chapter of that.

I did, though have this saved, so I decided I wanted to upload something, so here's this. Some things are weird, I hope they are ok... Some things in this chapter... some ideas for this story are no longer really here, so some of the allusions and connections in this chapter may or may not exist in the rest of the story and may turn out to be easter eggs. Or maybe not, I'm not sure yet.

Also, I recently played Control which was a pretty fun game... scratch that, I loved it, so I ended up writing a quick little chapter for it based off an idea I got from the game. That's uploaded too. Anyway, I apologize for everything, but it is as it is... see you around again soon, I hope...

-SWRwriter


	3. Chapter 3: The Lady of the Light

**Arc 1: The Return**

**Chapter 3: The Lady of the Light**

* * *

**_"And now to see your love set free,_**

**_You will need the witch's cabin key,_**

**_Find the Lady of the Light,_**

**_Still raving in the night._**

**_That's how you reshape destiny."_**

Commander Jennifer Shepard entered the so-called Museum of Light, right as some sort of old folk-sounding song ended. Catching the last verse, or more-likely the last chorus, Shepard couldn't help but make the connection between the words of the song and the so-called Museum of Light that this supposedly was. The first thing the senior Spectre noticed was the absolutely obscene amount of lighting within the building, with countless lightbulbs and other such sources of light filling the ceiling and some of the walls. She wasn't the only one who noticed this.

"Damn…" Ashley whistled, "Guess we know why it's called the Museum of Light, eh Commander?"

"Really? I don't see the reasoning." James joked behind her as well.

Shepard shook her head and took several more steps inside, looking around for the possible owner of the building. Deciding it'd be best to announce their arrival, rather than spook the supposed PTSD-diagnosed Asari, she called out.

"Hello, anyone home?" Jennifer called out.

Seconds later, an Asari came running from a side room, stopping short of the group of three. Shepard took a moment to look over the newcomer, taking in her appearance carefully.

The Asari stood at about Shepard's height, holding herself in a perfectly straight posture. She wore what appeared to be a standard-issue black, form-fitting bodysuit, identical to the many Shepard had seen other asari commandos wear during conflicts. Over the armored suit was brown, human-made leather jacket lined with artificial fur around the collar, providing extra warmth as the days grew shorter and the weather grew colder outside. The heightened heels normally present in many suits of asari armor was not present, surprising Shepard, as they appear to be purposely worn down to provide a lower and more stable footing.

Herself, the asari's skin was a much lighter shade of blue than most of her species. Her face, like many others, was adorned with facial marking, appearing a bright yellow color. They stretched from where brows would normally exist for a human, and curved along the inner edge of her cheeks, coming back up to meet at the upper bridge of her nose. Her perfect white teeth were visible beneath her light smile as her light blue eyes locked onto Shepard's green ones. Her crests, however, were not as flawless as her face, as they bared obvious scars throughout the entirety of the back of her head. At her ears were a pair of simple earrings, with a hanging white gem for each, which seemed to glow lightly with some light source within proving the light.

After only a moment, Shepard made these observations, and the asari before her continued to hold her smile as she spoke.

"Ah, hello, and welcome to the Museum of Light." She welcomed them, "My name it Lesini N'Sinna." She introduced herself with a light bow. "May I ask what brings you to my humble establishment, miss…?" She asked Shepard, leaving her sentence to end in silence as she gave her a chance to speak.

"Shepard." She said, "Jennifer Shepard."

The asari's eyes widened as she realized who stood before her. "Commander Shepard?" She asked, to which her guest nodded. Lesini's smile increased, "I am honored to have the esteemed Commander Shepard in my establishment." She turned her head to look at the two humans behind her, "And these must be your crewmates?"

"Spectre Ashley Williams, ma'am." Ashley introduced herself.

"The name's James Vega." James said, smiling, "It's a pleasure."

She nodded at the three of them, "Excellent. It is nice to meet such famous humans. Though, I must ask, what has brought such esteemed legends such as yourselves to my museum?"

Shepard answered for them, "We have some free time, and wish to learn more about this town and its history." She replied, "I was told this place was the best for the history of Bright Falls."

Lesini nodded, "Of course, you've come to the right place, Commander." She waved them to follow her as she turned around and began walking deeper into the building. They followed behind her as she began to speak again, "This place was once a power station for much of Bright Falls, utilizing the nearby river and a dam to generate enough power for this town. Eventually, with new power sources discovered over time, this place became obsolete. When I found this place, it was run-down and deserted, before I brought it back to its former glory." She informed them.

They reached an area filled with exhibits. There were several glass cases holding various items with plaques nearby, a few old-school twenty-first century projectors displaying various films or videos, and even an area nearby with many long bookcases filled to the brim with actual paper books.

"This is the main area of the museum, filled with the rich history of this town. As you may or may not know, Bright Falls is famous for its attraction and production of artists of all shapes and sizes, as you humans say. Musicians, writers, poets, singers, songwriters, authors, painters, you name it, we've had them. On display and in the library section are many of their works."

Lesini looked away for a moment with a frown, before shaking her head, "I apologize, I was in the middle of some research. Please excuse me, but feel free to look around and learn to your heart's content." She pointed over toward a nearby open doorway, which led into another room, "I'll be in there if you have any thoughts or questions, or you can simply find and speak with my _Assistant_, too." She smiled at the Commander, emphasizing the word assistant as she spoke slightly louder there.

On cue, another female voice rang out from somewhere else within the museum. "Partner!" She yelled out, before the new voice returned to silence. This response seemed to amuse the asari, as she laughed for a moment and shook her head.

"That's Monica. Feel free to ask her or me anything. And thank you for taking the time to learn about this wonderful town." With that, she walked away into the other room she'd pointed to. She paused in the doorway, however, and looked over her shoulder, "Oh, and please, do not turn off any of my lights. Thanks." And with that, she was gone.

The three of them watched her leave before they turned to one another.

"So, what's the plan, Shepard?" Ashley asked.

Shepard looked around at all of the displays, "There's a lot of information here. We can split up and look over what the museum has to offer, but make the legends and myths around the town your primary focus. Especially surrounding the so-called Cauldron Lake."

"You got it, Skipper."

"Of course, Lola."

Shepard smiled and nodded, "Good. We can go over everything we've learned later."

* * *

N7 James Vega wandered off toward the musical section of display, both surprised by the sheer amount of music and the fact that they were in several different 'ancient' formats.

There was an old-school jukebox filled with options, a record player with a shelf of records filled nearby, a CD rack and CD Player close by, and, of course, a more modern digital display which could be interacted with via an omni-tool. He saw many different plaques and displays near the music and music players that gave various pieces of information, too.

Shrugging to himself, he walked over to the old record player first.

There were dozens, maybe even over a hundred records of music on the shelf nearby, with one record already sitting in the record player, spinning. The needle had slide off of the black disk, signaling the end of whatever was playing, while a plaque sat nearby explaining the record player, and, apparently, the disk that was already in it.

He read the inscription to himself.

_Anderson Brothers' Record Player_

_Owned by the late Anderson Brothers, this record player was custom made here in Bright Falls per their order back in the nineteen-hundreds. It has been maintained through the years perfectly, and continues to function even to this day. Within is what is considered one of the best songs they've written, titled "The Poet and the Muse". The song tells one of the most infamous legends of Bright Falls, for one Thomas Zane._

James read the text, his gaze focusing on the last sentence. Thomas Zane and the legend of Bright Falls? That was certainly something interesting. He'd have to look into that.

Taking a step back, he turned toward the CD player and the shelf of disks. There were several musical CDs, with the occasional recorded podcasts and audiobooks. One band featured grabbed his attention, named _Starset_. An odd name.

He looked over the albums and found a plaque for the band near their music.

_Starset_

_An American-based rock band formed and famous from the early twenty-first century. In the middle of their height in popularity, the band took a vacation to Bright Falls to get away from the fame for a time. While vacationing, the lead vocalist went missing for two weeks, causing a large manhunt for the man, before he was found, unharmed. Upon resurfacing, the band immediately left Bright Falls and produced a number of songs in record time. It is rumored that the lead vocalist wrote several of the songs while he was missing._

_[More information needed. Investigation pending.]_

That was definitely odd, and weird. Was Lesini doing her 'research' on this band? And why? Were there some connections with them to the mysteries and legends here? Nothing made much sense, but James did have a special place in his heart for rock music. He had several ideas and interesting things to note, so he might as well check this out. To satisfy his curiosity, and to see how good this band was, James grabbed one of the disks, one that was specifically marked as 'important evidence', and played one of the songs.

It was titled: Unbecoming.

**_"I lost myself into the night_**

**_And I flew higher,_**

**_Than I had ever._**

**_But I still felt small._**

**_I clipped my wings and fell from flight_**

**_To open water_**

**_And floated farther_**

**_Away from myself._**

**_"And I swam in the wakes of imposters_**

**_Just to feel what it's like to pretend._**

**_There no dreams in the waves, only monsters,_**

**_And the monsters are my only friends._**

**_"They're all that I was_**

**_And never could be._**

**_"Eyes in the dead still water_**

**_Tried but it pushed back harder._**

**_Cauterized and atrophied._**

**_This is my unbecoming._**

**_Knives in the backs of martyrs,_**

**_Lives in the burning fodder._**

**_Cauterized and atrophied._**

**_This is my unbecoming._**

James continued listening to the song, unable to take the smile off of his face as he enjoyed the music. It was certainly not bad, in fact it was actually pretty good. Though the symbolism was surely running rampant, here, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Rather than continue attempting to analyze the song, James calmed his thoughts and listened to the Rock music.

'After this, I'll go find Ceniza…' He told himself, before losing himself in the music once more.

* * *

Ashley Williams, humanity's newest Spectre, decided to test her luck in the library, surrounding herself in hundreds, if not thousands of books. Oddly enough, some of them were kept individually within several shoeboxes, which confused Ashley to no end. Looking at a mounted plaque on the wall, she read a warning.

'When you are finished, put EVERYTHING back where you found them! Especially the works from the shoeboxes. If you do not, you WILL be prosecuted accordingly!'

Ashley narrowed her eyes at the sign, but didn't say anything. Instead, she walked around the bookshelves as she browsed what there was, looking for history books or something of a similar nature. Eventually, she discovered there wasn't really anything like this, so she looked back over what she'd seen already to look for anything useful. Her eyes eventually set on a seemingly ordinary shoebox.

There was a name on the shoebox, written in marker. It was inscribed with 'T. Zane.'

Reaching inside gently, Ashley grabbed a single piece of paper. It was a poem. A poem? A single box on the shelf for only a poem? And who was T. Zane?

Activating her omni-tool, Ashley searched the extranet for a 'T. Zane', only to find zero leads, especially once she added 'poem' to it. However, after searching 'Bright Falls', she found a few odd pieces of information.

According to several conspiracy sites, T. Zane was short for Thomas Zane. Apparently, the man was a famous poet from Bright Falls in the late twentieth century. He was said to be one of the best poets of all time, but also a lover of diving. According to these extranet sites, Thomas Zane had a girlfriend, or wife in some cases, who went insane… or she went missing, only for a doppelganger to take her place… yeah, this was weird. From there, apparently, he physically cut her heart out, before using some form of magic to write himself and his lover out of existence…

'Yeah, like this was helpful and believable…' She thought to herself incredulously. Though, to be fair, she WAS looking at non-credible sites.

She finally decided to read the poem in her hand. It was of a short length, and the imagery made her mind wonder what the meaning behind it could be.

_For he did not know, _

_That beyond the lake he called home_

_There laid a deeper, and darker ocean green_

_Where waves are both wilder and more serene._

_To its ports I've been, _

_To its ports I've been._

An odd poem, this certainly was. Ashley starred at the hand-written nature of the poem, the handwritten appearing slightly scratched and slanted, indicating a quick transcription. It was as if written in one take, without any sort of corrections or edits after the fact. Was he in a rush to write this poem?

Ashley shrugged and continued looking around, attempting to find something that may be important to Shepard's so-called investigation.

That's when a voice called over her shoulder, "Oh, are you interested in his works, too?"

Caught off-guard by the sudden voice, Ashley turned around to find its owner. Standing before the Spectre was a young woman with the most dazzling emerald green eyes she'd ever seen, with long, flowing brown hair. She wore a heavy, light brown coat and a pair of jeans. The unknown woman's gentle smile captivated Ashley for a moment as she leaned forward slightly, with her hands behind her back.

"Ahaha, sorry for spooking you like that." She apologized with a kind smile. As Ashley relaxed, the woman extended her hand after standing straight up. Ashley soon took it and shook hands with the unknown woman, "Hi, I'm Monica." She introduced herself, "Lesini's _partner_." She emphasized.

"The name's Ashley. Nice to meet you Monica."

"Ahaha, yes, same to you." She tilted her head as she saw the paper in the Spectre's hands, "So, what did you think about Zane's poem?"

Ashley's gaze turned down toward the page before she shrugged, "It's certainly short, but I know almost nothing about the author, so I wouldn't know where to start to analyze it."

"Ohh~ Are you a fan of poetry, too?"

At that, Ashley smiled lightly and nodded, "I'm a fan of Alfred Tenyson's works."

Monika chuckled and nodded at that, "He does have quite the way with words, right?" She said, "Do you write any poetry?"

Deciding the innocent girl before her was simply making conversation, Ashley shook her head honestly, "I Iove reading poetry, but I'm not so good at writing my own. You?"

"Yes, I love poetry. It's such a lovely way to share and describe my feelings, though I haven't had much time recently to make any new ones." She told her.

"So, what do you do around here as her assi-partner?" Ashley corrected herself.

"Ahaha, just about a bit of everything, I suppose." Monica tells her, "Lesini is normally so focused on her research that she hardly has any time to do anything else. Sometimes, I worry that she'll stop eating and lock herself in that office of hers."

"What kind of research does she do?" Ashley asked.

"Oh, mostly about the history and legends of Bright Falls and Cauldron Lake. There's so much history surrounding this place, and so much of it is unknown to us. Or, at least, it's hard to understand. For instance, she's recently found evidence that one of the most famous bands from Bright Falls may have also written and sung songs under a secondary name." She tells her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's all so fascinating. Especially if you're aware of the more supernatural aspects of this town's history." Monica told her, "There's a myth that the veil between dimensions is super thin here, leading to supernatural events. Isn't it funny how fiction and nonfiction seem to blend so easily with both myths and poetry?"

Ashley shrugged, thinking it over for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, I guess it is quite funny… So, you'd say you're quite familiar with these myths and legends?"

"Of course. Why, do you have any questions?" Monica asked, back to her earlier pose as she leaned slightly forward with a curious smile.

* * *

Shepard immediately made her way to Lesini's office, following after the intriguing asari. As soon as she entered the doorway to her office, her mind felt like bursting at the sheer volume of information presented throughout the room.

The office had physical papers scattered across the multiple tables, a few even spilling onto the ground. The walls had several bulletin boards which allowed even more papers to be stuck to the walls. In the back was a large desk with a holo-terminal, where Lesini was currently typing something. However, what caught Shepard's attention were the boards on the walls.

One such wall had pages of what appeared to be sheet music and lyrics, with two large, bolded titles pinned to the wall. One read "Old Gods of Asgard" while the other read "Poets of the Fall", with several strings and marks connecting the two and the various pieces of music. There were even a few physically printed out pictures of what must have been band members for each band.

It reminded Shepard of a conspiracy theorist's board, attempting to find connections between things that shouldn't or didn't appear to be connected.

Another such area had a large title with a subtitle, reading "Cauldron Lake" and "Touched by the Darkness." This board had many names and titles underneath the main title, with several news articles, pages of lyrics or poetry or the like, and photos. Some of the names listed and scattered around the board were _'Old Gods of Asgard', 'T. Zane', 'Starset', 'J. Fayden?', 'Poets of the Fall?', 'D. Kidd.', 'A. Wake'_ and many more, but the last of which was bolded and highlighted, giving it seemingly more importance than the others.

As Shepard was looking over the boards, Lesini cleared her throat, catching the Spectre's attention.

"Commander, I assume you have some questions… Does my research interest you?" She asked innocently, nodding toward the wall she'd just been examining.

Shepard nodded, "It does, I've been quite curious about some of the legends surrounding this town. I heard you'd be the best person to talk to about it."

"Of course, ask away."

"Well, first, I'd like to hear more on how you got here. It's not unheard of for other species to live here on Earth, but ever since the Reaper War ended, most have stuck to either the Citadel or their own worlds." Shepard asked, curious to hear her story.

"Well, I was part of a large force during invasion day on Earth during the end of the Reaper War." She informed Shepard, "Have you heard of Operation Yakshi?"

Shepard shook her head, "It sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't remember any specific information about it."

Lesini chuckled lightly, "I'd imagine your focus was elsewhere on invasion day. Well, when the fleets invaded the Sol System, Operation Yakshi was designed to split the Reaper forces on Earth. A large force of huntresses and Justicars would land in several designated drop points on the North American Continent, attempting to rescue civilians on the ground and divert Reaper forces from congregating in Europe." She informed her, "My task force was paired with Justicar Marniana, and our target was actually Bright Falls. Intel had shown that large clusters of civilians were hiding out here in the remote mountains."

"Interesting, how large was your force?"

"Originally, there were just over a hundred of us, along with the Justicar. Almost a third of us died before reaching the ground, but those were still better odds than I heard London was." Lesini remembered with a frown, "For some reason, the Reaper presence was exceptionally high around Bright Falls, as if looking for something. Anyway, I was the only surviving member of my entire team, and after helping the survivors down here, I…" She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I decided to stay here, my work is far from over with everything else going on around here."

"Hold up, you were the only survivor of your team?"

Lesini cringed but nodded sadly, "Yes… they'd…" She hesitated to tell the story but did finally speak, though Shepard could almost sense something wrong, "Most of them died slowly as we tried to help the civilians, but the rest of us prepared for a final push against them, attempting to take a prisoner camp by the edge of Cauldron Lake. Something… something went wrong and they were all killed, all except for me…"

"I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure you were close with many of your squadmates."

"I was… but I'm over it now. I have a new family, and new people and problems to worry about… oh, I'm sorry, you're here to talk about the legends of this town though, right?"

Shepard didn't like how she tried to change the subject, but let it go, and nodded, "Yes, I was wondering specifically about the legend of a writer here in Bright Falls. I'd heard there's a myth from the twenty-first century…"

At the mention of those details, the asari's eyes lit up like Christman, "Oh, oh! You're talking about the legendary Alan Wake!" She said, a smile creeping up her face, "His works are some of my favorites. Did you know he worked on the hit supernatural TV series 'Night Springs'?"

"Right… I'd like to know his story."

"Of course, I'd love to regale you with his tale." Lesini said with a smile, "Now, I can give you the synopsis, but if I were you, I'd read his final manuscript." She said, turning around and searching for something on her desk before finding it. She held up a hardback paper book with a simple title inscribed on the front. It was titled 'Departure'. Slowly, she extended her hands toward Shepard, giving the novel to the Spectre.

"Departure?"

"Yes, it contains his story of what happened in the final week or so before he vanished. It's a good read, and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Are you an avid reader?"

"When I have time, I like to read a bit… I could probably read most of this in a few hours." Shepard remarked, examining the thickness of the book.

"Excellent, this would contain almost anything you'd want to know about him and his 'myth'." She replied, emphasizing the final word, as if she were only using the term to humor her.

Shepard's gaze darted to the bound stack of paper in her hand, not used to such weight in a document considering her upbringing. Would this really answer any and all of her questions? She doubted it, but considered the possibility. "You say this was written in the 21st century by this man, Alan Wake?"

Lesini nodded, "Yes, Commander. His final written work…"

* * *

James followed the dual female voices in the distance as he navigated through the maze called the Museum of Light. After only searching for a moment, he finally found his Ceniza, along with another human woman.

"Can I hear?" He heard Ashley say.

"It's embarrassing… and I haven't played in a long time…" The other woman, presumably Monica, said.

"C'mon, I'm sure you're fine."

"…Alright, fine…"

As he rounded the corner, he heard the sounds of a piano being played, the melody unknown to the N7. He saw an unknown brown-haired woman playing the piano as Ashley watched her, standing right nearby. Said piano looked dusty and unused, appeared as if it was merely decoration up until this point.

James came to stand by Ashley, preparing to speak… until he was interrupted by the unknown woman when she began… singing?

_"Every day, I imagine a future where I can be with you…"_

She began, captivating the N7 Marine with her voice. She must have had Ashley captivated, too, as she didn't dare interrupt her. He'd never heard such a song before, but the lyrics almost felt genuine. Did she, perhaps, write this?

_"In my hand, is a pen that will write a poem of me and you…_

_The ink flows down into a dark puddle,_

_Just move your hand, write your way into his heart._

_But in this world of infinite choices…_

_What will it take just to find that special day?_

_…what will it take… just to find… that special day?"_

She played the piano a bit longer, before her gracefully gliding fingers halted, stalling out and falling onto the ancient piano's keys. The immediate sound ended the song as the woman froze up, stiff as can be.

"Hey, are you alright?" Ashley asked, putting a hand on Monica's shoulder. She turned to look at the two of them, tears appearing at the edges of her eyes.

Monika gave a weak smile, before lightly nodding, "I-… I'm fine, just emotional is all… Haha… sorry, it's just… that song brings back so many memories… Sorry for ruining the mood…"

"It's fine." James said, finally speaking for the first time since coming across the two of them, "So, did you write that one?" He asked softly.

Monica nodded, "Y-yeah… but that was a long, long time ago. I'm not the same person I was back then. Everything's different, everything's changed… You must be James, right?"

Vega nodded, "Yeah, that's me."

"Spectre Ashley's spoken highly of you… She figured out I knew how to play, and asked me to show her a bit of my skills at piano…"

"I didn't realize you wrote a song. It sounded beautiful."

"It did." James agreed.

"Thanks." She said with a warm smile, the sadness beginning to disappear, "I wrote it for my first true love. Or, at least, who I thought was my first true love…" It went unspoken that she was rejected, which neither of the two soldiers chose to state or ask her, "But I'm fine now…" She shook her head, "Anyway, since you're both here, do either of you have any questions I could answer for you?"

Both Spectre and N7 looked at one another and had a silent agreement. Together, the two of them began asking questions to the only other person in the building who knew about the myths and legends surrounding the town. Hopefully, they'd learn something interesting that could help Shepard's investigation, or shed light on the odd behavior and atmosphere that sits upon this strange, rural town.

* * *

After the conversation finished with Lesini, Commander Shepard smiled and nodded at the odd Asari, "Thank you for your time, Miss N'Sinna. We must, however, get going." She said as she led the Asari out of her office into the main room, where both Ashley and James stood, talking to one another until they arrived. Apparently, they'd finished their investigations.

The Lady of the Light nodded, "Of course, Commander Shepard. It has been an honor to speak and guide you, today. If you have any further questions and concerns, feel free to contact me." She assured her.

Shepard nodded, waving the book around in her hand, "Alright guys, let's go."

"Aye aye, skipper."

"Yes, Ma'am."

With that, the Commander left the Museum of Light, filled with curiosity burning within her, focusing on the manuscript held in her right hand. It was titled "Departure", and was written by a man named Alan Wake, someone she'd heard only about through hearsay and rumor thus far.

She had several hours until she would begin investigating Cauldron Lake and the scene of the attack, and looked forward to reading something by this odd legendary man. Perhaps it would hold some answers pertaining to the strange rumors and legends of Bright Falls. The one thing she was certain about, however, was that something was happening. She didn't know where, or why, or what, but she could feel it deep within her, a subliminal warning from her gut.

The Spectre had no idea what was going to happen tonight, nor the chain of events that would occur as a result.

* * *

As her guests left the museum, Lesini let out a sigh of relief as she turned back to her research. She looked over sheets of lyrics, pages of her theories, and so much more, before deciding that Shepard's visit was bothering her far too much to be normal, something was very, very wrong.

Monica joined her in her office and looked at Lesini with a combination of confusion and unease. It seems like she, too, felt something odd. "I feel like I'm forgetting something…"

Looking over her research for another moment, a sudden thought suddenly resurfaced within her mind, reappearing for the first time since the memory's conception. Almost in a panicked rush, Lesini N'Sinna threw papers and small, fragile books out of her way as she searched frantically. "What's wrong?" Her assistant/ partner asked. However, she ignored her as her mind was buzzing insistently. She prayed she was wrong… praying to her goddess that her memory was flawed… unfortunately, ever since coming to this place during the Reaper War, her memory has been nothing but flawless. A true curse, she thought.

Finally, after searching, she finally found what she'd been looking for: a single piece of paper, seemingly unremarkable in every way. In fact, one could easily confuse it for simply another page of her theories, or a page from one of her books, but no… Instead, unlike everything else in the room, this piece of parchment contained power.

Monica froze in shock as she saw what her dear friend held in her hands. "I-Is that…" She paused, to which Lesini simply nodded.

The parchment contained words inscribed by an old human instrument called the typewriter, and did not contain much. However, simply holding and focusing on the paper resulted in a shadowed image of a man in her mind, easily visualizing the author for her within her subconscious. It wasn't simply a piece of paper or parchment, though. No, it was a page from an unknown manuscript, written by a long-dead author… or someone who should be long-dead.

Her frantic eyes darted down to the paper, rereading the page for what must have been the hundredth time, though it'd certainly been a while since she'd last read it. After all, for some unforeseen reason, she'd completely forgotten about this page, despite its obvious importance… Perhaps this, too, was the work of the page's author, though the power behind it clearly laid on another page.

'With that, the Commander left the Museum of Light, filled with curiosity burning within her, focusing on the manuscript held in her right hand. It was titled "Departure", and was written by a man named Alan Wake, someone she'd heard only about through hearsay and rumor thus far.

She had several hours until she would begin investigating Cauldron Lake and the scene of the attack, and looked forward to reading something by this odd legendary man. Perhaps it would hold some answers pertaining to the strange rumors and legends of Bright Falls. The one thing she was certain about, however, was that something was happening. She didn't know where, or why, or what, but she could feel it deep within her, a subliminal warning from her gut.

The Spectre had no idea what was going to happen tonight, nor the chain of events that would occur as a result.'

* * *

** _Alan Wake's Reference Pages:_**

**_The Nature of Fiction and Reality_**

Reality and fiction are more closely connected and related than most people believe. Under certain conditions, it can be reshaped into almost anything. When these sorts of changes occur, almost nobody notices it, because once the change occurs there is nothing to remember. Only those directly affected or touched by the forces of darkness and powers that change reality actually notice these things. Many are often driven mad by the reality shifts and powers of darkness; some cope with it. I use this to my advantage.

I am one of those who have been touched by these powers, and one of the few who know how to wield the power to rewrite reality. To change it, you have to nudge it in the right direction. Your version of reality is already there, it wants to come true. You just have to help it achieve its potential. The true difficulty is in the details. Using some of my work, I can use the details to match reality to the page. When this happens, when the absolute is reached, reality will shift, overriding the existing course of events.

"The lie, no matter how outrageous, is now the truth."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Another chapter finally out for this crossover. I have big plans for this story, in my head at least, and I hope to continue slowly working on this, as well as my other story/stories. Hope you enjoyed it.**

**There were several hints and/or red herrings within this chapter, and not all is as it seems... or is it?! Anyway, I do plan to have a slight crossover with one or two other videogames/works of fiction, so if you care about it and this story, feel free to leave a suggestion for a videogame and character that you would like to see here, possibly. **

**As a slight hint, 'D. Kidd' is an OC who may or may not have been involved in events at Bright Falls between Mass Effect and Alan Wake, bringing other things works of fiction to life (more will be explained/alluded to later on). Maybe he brought someone you care about to life, too... The only rules are that the character is human/human-like/human-ish, and that they aren't some overpowered character. (Won't accept someone like Superman) Who knows, maybe if they're good enough, they'd tag along for part of the adventure...**

**Anyway, this story isn't my highest priority, as most of my focus is on The Pinnacle of Evolution, but I figured I'd finally update this one with what I've been slowly doing with it. Hope it was half decent. Thanks for reading.**

**-swrWriter**


End file.
